Amid the controversy surrounding the Department of Tourism’s “Love the Philippines” campaign, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco will take a brief leave of absence this week starting on July 13, the Department of Tourism’s Office of Public Affairs and Advocacy (DOT- OPAA) announced on Tuesday.

The department claims that long before the organization launched its rebranding campaign, Sec. Frasco submitted her leave request on May 9; it was approved by the Office of the President on May 23.

“Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco filed her leave application on May 9, 2023. This was approved by the Office of the President on May 23, 2023,” the DOT said.

“The purpose of the short leave beginning July 13-21 consisting of only 7 working days, is to spend time with her young family,” it added.

However, the department also said Frasco will be attending President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s second State of the Nation Address on July 24, Monday.

“She is confirmed to attend the SONA. Any insinuation to the contrary is false,” the DOT also said.

The Tourism Secretary’s leave of absence comes amid controversy following the release of the ‘Love the Philippines’ tourism campaign. The fiasco occurred when the campaign’s promotional video, produced by the ad agency DDB Philippines, used stock footage taken from other countries.”

The video, which sparked public criticism both locally and abroad, forced the department to terminate its contract with DDB. Nevertheless, the department has continued to use the new tourism branding.

However, the controversy didn’t stop there. The DOT faced further criticism when it featured alleged sex trafficker Apollo Quiboloy on its Facebook page while expressing gratitude to various tourism pages that had shown support for the campaign.

Photo: Department of Tourism FB